Impulsivity, Explained!

Impulsivity is not simply rudeness or lack of self-discipline. It is a function of the interior signalling system of the brain.

ADHD impacts the way the different regions of the brain communicate. That affects inattention, impulsivity, and emotional regulation.

Impulsivity, a primary symptom of ADHD, may impair your ability to stop and think about the consequences before speaking or acting. How? In this video, learn about the brain’s “response inhibition” centre, and why it doesn’t work as well for people with ADHD.

When the brain detects a red flag, its limbic-hippocampal connections relay a warning from the thalamus to the frontal cortex. That’s the control centre of the brain that handles emotional expression and problem solving.

In ADHD brains, the thalamus gate is broken.

That means a person with ADHD may struggle to:

Hold back a comment that may hurt someone’s feeling

Rein in short-term desires like eating candy or spending money

“People without ADHD have the ability to stop, mid-stream if they recognize a person is not smiling,” says Joel Nigg, Ph.D. “The child with ADHD needs 20-30 milliseconds longer warning [to correct course], which is an eternity when it comes to behaviour control.”

In other words, this is not simply rudeness or lack of self-discipline. It is a function of the interior signalling system of the brain.